Change is good, but not for the Bears

July 17, 2006|RICK GOSSELIN The Dallas Morning News

Give the Detroit Lions credit for having the busiest off-season and the Cowboys credit for the splashiest off-season. But give the Chicago Bears credit for the best off-season. The Lions hired a new coach, traded their quarterback, signed 15 free agents and drafted a couple of potential starters: linebacker Ernie Sims and safety Daniel Bullocks. The 2006 Lions will hardly resemble the 2005 Lions who trudged home 5-11. The Cowboys collared the biggest and best name in free agency when they signed flamboyant Terrell Owens. He helped deliver Philadelphia an NFC championship in his first year (2004) with the Eagles, and the Cowboys are hoping he can repeat that trick in Dallas. The Bears were neither busy nor bold. But they didn't need to be. Chicago won 11 games and an NFC North title in 2005 with one of the youngest teams in the league. Bears general manager Jerry Angelo managed to keep that team intact this off-season. That's an amazing feat in a salary-cap world. There are 704 starters in the NFL, and 120 left their teams since last season ended. That's 17 percent of the primary starters. Sixty-one starters departed in free agency, 44 were released as salary-cap casualties, 13 more were traded and two retired. Four departures were Pro Bowlers: center LeCharles Bentley, guard Steve Hutchinson and running back Edgerrin James left in free agency, and cornerback Ty Law became a salary-cap casualty. Seven teams must replace their starting quarterbacks. Five teams must replace their leading receivers, four must replace their leading scorers, three must replace their leading rushers and two must replace their leading tacklers. Change is not always welcome. And that's why the Bears had such a great off-season -- there was no change. The Bears were one of only two teams to not lose a starter. Cincinnati was the other, but the Bengals did take a hit with the departure of backup quarterback Jon Kitna to the Lions. The only Bears absent from the 2005 team are backup safety Mike Green (in a trade with Seattle) and backup cornerback Jerry Azumah, who retired because of hip and neck injuries. Chicago fielded the NFL's youngest team in 2004 and the fourth-youngest in 2005. Keeping a young team intact worked for the Cowboys on their way to three Super Bowl championships in the pre-salary-cap era in the early 1990s. Now Angelo believes that formula can work for the Bears. Chicago has every reason to be optimistic. The Bears won the North despite playing almost the entire 2005 season without their starting quarterback and receiving a minimal contribution from their first-round draft pick. Quarterback Rex Grossman broke his ankle during the preseason and did not return until mid-December. By then, Chicago had built a 10-3 record with rookie Kyle Orton taking the snaps. The Bears had hoped Texas All-American Cedric Benson would chase a rushing title when they selected him with the fourth overall pick of the 2005 draft. But Benson missed all of training camp in a contract holdout and was never a factor, carrying just 67 times for 272 yards and no touchdowns. Little wonder the Bears finished 29th in offense. So even without spending a penny for upgrades, Chicago is automatically better on offense with a healthy Grossman and a hungry Benson. But the Bears did spend a few pennies in free agency, adding a superb insurance policy with former NFL passing champion Brian Griese, who will back up Grossman. A defense that ranked second in the NFL didn't need much help, but Angelo went out and got some anyway. He signed nickel cornerback Ricky Manning away from Carolina in free agency and used his top draft pick (a second-rounder) on Abilene Christian safety Danieal Manning. The most tumultuous off-season belonged to the New York Jets, hands down. It started when head coach Herman Edwards bolted for the Kansas City Chiefs. Then the Jets released Pro Bowl cornerback Ty Law in a salary-cap move and traded their best player -- pass rusher John Abraham -- to Atlanta. The Jets also cut two starting offensive linemen (veteran Pro Bowl center Kevin Mawae and tackle Jason Fabini) and their fullback (Jerald Sowell). Nose tackle James Reed then followed Edwards to Kansas City. So the 4-12 Jets have plenty of holes to fill. The Bears have none, which might make them the team to watch in 2006. And away they go Here's a breakdown of starters lost (SL) by each NFL team during the off-season. The definition of a starter is a player who started at least eight games (half the season) or lost his starting position because of an injury: TeamSLKey lossMinnesota8QB Daunte CulpepperHouston7WR Jabar GaffneyBuffalo6WR Eric MouldsCarolina6LB Will WitherspoonDallas6DT La'Roi GloverNew Orleans6C LeCharles BentleyNY Jets6CB Ty LawCleveland5WR Antonio BryantMiami5CB Sam MadisonSan Fran5LB Julian PetersonSt. Louis5DT Ryan PickettTennessee5QB Steve McNairBaltimore4DT Maake KemoeatuDetroit4CB/KR R.W. McQuartersGreen Bay4K Ryan LongwellJacksonville4WR Jimmy SmithOakland4CB Charles WoodsonPhiladelphia4WR Terrell OwensWashington4LB LaVar ArringtonAtlanta3OT Kevin ShafferNY Giants3CB Will AllenPittsburgh3WR Antwaan Randle ElIndianapolis2HB Edgerrin JamesDenver2HB Mike AndersonKansas City2FB Tony RichardsonNew England2K Adam VinatieriSeattle2G Steve HutchinsonArizona1DT Russell DavisSan Diego1QB Drew BreesTampa Bay1S Dexter JacksonChicago0CB/KR Jerry AzumahCincinnati0QB Jon Kitna